Take My Hand
by ABritishAccent
Summary: "Please, just trust me; take my hand," Madison Elwyn is a normal high school girl living a normal high school life, except for the part where she's the daughter of an ancient Greek goddess and a boy, claiming that these gods are real, shows up on her door, ushering her into this fantastic, mythical world of monsters and gods.


I groan, wiping the back of my hand against my sweaty forehead, "Honestly, why must we do gym? It's where guys get to be competitive and girls get to strut around and look _pretty_ ," I adjust my voice to go into a high-pitched shrill, and Casey giggles, "and the people like us suffer. It's completely mental," I whine to my best friend, Casey Lewis, as we head back to the locker rooms to shower.

"Hey, this is your last semester of it then you don't have to take it anymore, plus, school's almost over anyway, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah, but it still sucks."

Casey laughs and rolls her eyes at me, shaking her head in disbelief, "Wow, Madison. You sure have a deep, intense hatred for this class," I point at her, shooting 'finger guns' "You know it,"

We've just hardly changed back into our normal clothes when the bell rings, signaling the end of the day. I grab my satchel off the locker room's dirty floor and rush out the door, pulling Casey along with me. We weave our way to our lockers and dispense our bags' contents in. "I think I'll walk home today, okay? No need to wait for me," I say as I shove my AP Chemistry book further inside the metal compartment.

"You're just complaining about how much you hate exercise and then willingly walk a mile and a half back to your house? I don't get you sometimes,"

"I was complaining about the class, not the exercise. There's a difference."

"Not... Really."

I shrug, "Eh, so what. I'll walk. Bye, I'll see you tomorrow!" I make a hand heart and stick my tongue out at my blonde-haired friend as I walk backward down the hall, making my way to the front doors. She waves and turns around, bouncing off. I look over the tops of heads until I can't see her waving ponytail.

I push out the glass doors and run across the street, my leather satchel banging against my hip. I flip my blue hair over my shoulder, pushing it out of my face. The sun's heat isn't as intense, and a warm spring breeze pushes through the air, making the day beautiful.

I make my way down the sidewalk, humming along to Pennywise's song, Revolution. My earbuds are in, blasted up to max volume, but I swear I hear a twig snap. I whip my head around, scanning the sidewalk and street for anybody. No one appears, and I bite my lip. I cautiously begin walking again when I hear heavy footsteps behind me.

I begin to walk faster, glancing behind me. All I see are shadows, but they're not a normal human shape. I could swear they looked like a giant scorpion shadow, but how crazy is that? No way a giant scorpion could be a thing, and least of all in South Carolina.

As the shadows creep closer, I begin to full-on sprint, dashing over and around fallen limbs that haven't yet been picked up from last week's storm, stray cats and dogs who don't have the common sense to move, and any other obstacle in my way. I see my house across the road, and make a mad dash for it. Neither of my parents' cars is in the driveway, meaning I'm alone.

Oh, great.

I quickly open the front door and rush in, slamming it hard behind me. I lean against the door, panting hard and sweating just as much as I was in gym class. "Oh, God... Why... Did I... Do that?" I ask myself, in short, cut off sentences, trying to catch my breath again. I press a hand against my forehead and lean my head back, gulping for air.

"I'm not sure, why don't you tell me?"

I scream, jumping up and looking for where the voice came from. A boy of about 17 walks down the stairs, the shadows of the dark house seemingly almost clinging to him. He wears an all black tee shirt and a leather jacket, with loose black jeans and combat boots. A strange black metal sword hangs off his belt, and a silver skull ring rests on his hand.

His pale skin is almost translucent, as if he'd been hiding in a cave the past three months. His intense brown eyes making me want to melt, as do his plump pink lips.

Hey, no one ever said I wasn't allowed to admire this strange boy who broke into my house.

Wait, this kid broke into my house.

"What the hell are you doing here? Who are you?" I demand, taking a step away as he approaches, the boy lets out a low chuckle, "I'm Nico di Angelo, and I'm here to save your life."

"What?"

"You were smart to run home. Out there's a giant scorpion. Raised on Triple G Ranch," Nico scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, as if there was a backstory to that place that was embarrassing, "He's just the beginning, because someone has it out for you, and is deliberately siccing monsters on you. So, if you want to live, do come with me,"

I frown at the guy leaning against my stairwell, "What the hell? No way! Besides, even if I was going anywhere, I'd need to pack my stuff. Can't go anywhere without mah stuff." I smirk, crossing my arms and leaning against the door. A loud crash, and the door lurching inwards pushes me off and into the hallway. "What the-" "We're out of time,"

Nico jumps off the stairs and stands above me, offering me his hand, "Please, trust me; take my hand."

I wearily glance at it, and look past him, at my front door splintering, something ramming into it again and again. I look up into his puppy dog eyes and firmly grip his hand.

And then I slip into the shadows.


End file.
